Boys basketball: San Rafael thriving under new coach
The “Junkyard Dawgs” are finding new life and success after a disheartening 2023-24 season.
San Rafael beat Vintage for the second time in a week with a 66-47 victory over the Crushers in Thursday’s opening game of the Novato Tournament.
The Bulldogs (5-1) were at full strength when they beat Vintage 64-33 on Saturday. But junior Luke Shapiro, averaging 20 points per game, sat out Thursday with a calf strain suffered during Wednesday’s 65-63 non-league loss to Tam. Sophomore starter Wyatt Tornello also was unavailable for the Bulldogs.
After a slow start, the Bulldogs tapped into the energy of their new head coach.
“The youthful voice of our coach (Colin Hamilton) brings … makes us all have that youthful, positive energy,” said Bulldogs senior Anthony Tajbakhsh, who had 14 points and six rebounds against Vintage.
Hamilton takes over the San Rafael boys basketball program after the Bulldogs went 6-20 last season.
“As a first-time varsity head coach, I couldn’t ask for a better spot to land,” Hamilton said after Thursday’s win. “I have great parents, a great athletics director, and great players.”
Vintage was determined to get a measure of revenge against San Rafael in the opening quarter Thursday. But San Rafael’s senior core of Gio Brovelli, Tajbakhsh and Asher Urban keyed a rabid comeback that saw the Bulldogs take a 23-20 lead by halftime.
Brovelli pulled down a defensive rebound and outran the Crushers the length of the court for a layup to tie the game at 19 points apiece. Back-to-back baskets by sophomore William Healy and Tajbakhsh closed out the first half.
“We’re young and ambitious,” Urban said. “We have a good team chemistry. We never quit. We’re junkyard dogs, trying to win every loose ball. A good defense is going to be key to our success.”
Brovelli led five Bulldogs in double figures, with 16 points and five rebounds. Urban tacked on 10 points and six rebounds, while Healy had 10 points and five rebounds.
“We run our offense through (Brovelli and Shapiro) but, when we’re missing one of them, the other guys need to step up,” Urban said. “We learned how to play without two of our guys (Shapiro and Tornello) that are key to our offense. I think that was big.”
San Rafael went on a 10-0 run to open the third quarter as Brovelli and Tajbakhsh hit back-to-back shots from beyond the arc for a 33-20 lead. The Crushers pushed back to close the gap to single digits before the Bulldogs pumped the gas pedal again. Jax Aguillon finished with 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute of the third quarter that pushed San Rafael’s lead to 15 points.
Throughout the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs flirted with a 20-point lead. Freshman Kai Sandel’s running jumper gave San Rafael a 66-45 lead but the Crushers dropped in a layup before the buzzer.
San Rafael is scheduled to play at 6:30 p.m. against the winner of the first-round matchup between. Sacred Heart Cathedral and Piner, as they seek to start another winning streak. The Bulldogs won their first four games of the season by 20 points or more.
“Our role guys really stepped up today,” said Brovelli, who was drawing double and triple teams from the Crushers.